In the field of racing, special car seats have been developed which provide good support for the user. The car seats are strong and preferably light-weight.
These seats are sometimes referred to as “full-containment seats”, because they more or less fully contain the body of a user. These seats are used as race car seats.
At the time of a crash, substantial forces are exerted on the car seat. Also during driving, substantial forces are exerted by the seat on the user and vice versa.
Full containment car seats are often made from aluminium sheet. The sheet is cut in a predetermined way. In the same operation, holes are cut at certain places in the sheet. The cutting process is often performed with computer controlled cutting means.
Subsequently, the cut sheets are formed into a three-dimensional shape, i.e. the shape of the seat. The shaping process is often carried out with a computer-controlled forming machine.
Although the presently known seats are substantially strong and rigid, and provide a substantial protection against impact from the side or from another direction, there is a constant need in the field of the art to improve the seats. A better protection from the seat may lead to fewer casualties or less severe injuries in case of a crash.
This need is increased by new regulations from authorities which require better protection for race drivers.
It was found in practice that an aluminium bucket seat which is further reinforced becomes very heavy, which leads to a disadvantage in racing properties. Race cars need to be light-weight, and thus a heavy seat leads to a slower car.
In order to overcome this disadvantage, bucket seats have been developed which are manufactured from carbon. These race seats have the advantage of a light weight. However, these bucket seats are very expensive, in particular because an individual, separate mould has to be manufactured for each size of bucket seat that is to be made. In contrast, an aluminium bucket seat does not require a mould and therefore can be manufactured in any size with limited or no extra costs per size.
Further, the actual manufacturing of a carbon seat often requires extensive manual labour, which increases the costs.
Further, carbon is very sensitive to abrasive wear from the user who sits in the seat. Thus, carbon seats tend to wear relatively quickly and may have a relatively low life expectancy in some circumstances.